Justice Department says $13m aircraft bought through shell company, ‘smuggled’ out of US for Maduro’s use.

United States authorities say they have seized a $13m aircraft allegedly bought for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in violation of sanctions.

The Dassault Falcon 900EX was seized in the Dominican Republic on Monday and has been brought to the US state of Florida, according to the US Department of Justice. Maduro was not on board. The seizure comes as the US has increased pressure on Maduro’s government after contested elections in July.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the aircraft had been “illegally purchased … through a shell company and smuggled out” of the US.

Such a transaction would violate sanctions imposed by Washington in 2019 that prohibit US citizens from engaging in sales to individuals acting indirectly or directly on behalf of Maduro’s government.

“The department will continue to pursue those who violate our sanctions and export controls to prevent them from using American resources to undermine the national security of the United States,” Garland said in a statement.

Matthew Axelrod, the Department of Commerce’s assistant secretary for export enforcement, added: “It doesn’t matter how fancy the private jet or how powerful the officials – we will work relentlessly with our partners here and across the globe to identify and return any aircraft illegally smuggled outside of the United States.”

Authorities said the aircraft was purchased from a Florida-based company in late 2022 and early 2023 by a Caribbean-based shell company to evade the sanctions.

They said the plane has “flown almost exclusively” to and from a military base in Venezuela and has been used to transport Maduro on foreign visits.

Venezuela’s government, in a statement, decried the move as “a repeated criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy”.

Contested elections

The US has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan individuals and entities since 2005, but the administration of former President Donald Trump vastly expanded the programme in an effort to destabilise Maduro, who replaced socialist President Hugo Chavez when he died in 2013.

The sanctions as well as economic mismanagement from the government have been blamed for worsening the country’s overlapping economic and humanitarian crises while fuelling mass migration from the Latin American country.

US President Joe Biden’s administration had relaxed some sanctions to try to motivate Maduro to hold free and fair elections this year.

However, many of those sanctions were soon reimposed after repeated allegations of violations.

Maduro later claimed victory in the July 28 election despite opposition allegations of widespread fraud.

Regional leaders and organisations have raised doubts over the outcome while the European Union has rejected the results.

Washington has taken a step further, recognising opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the victor.

At least 27 people have been killed and 192 have been wounded as weeks of protests have racked the country.

Speaking to reporters on background on Monday, a White House National Security Council spokesperson directly connected the plane’s seizure to the election.

“Maduro and his representatives have tampered with the results of the July 28 presidential election, falsely claimed victory and carried out widespread repression to maintain power by force,” the spokesperson said.

The seizure of the plane “is an important step to ensure that Maduro continues to feel the consequences from his misgovernance of Venezuela”, the spokesperson added.

Maduro has repeatedly decried the role of the US in Venezuela and, after the elections, said he would call for a “new revolution” if forced to do so by “North American imperialism and fascist criminals”.